Mohammed Alam Choudry, of MC Enterprises, also known as Quix, of Bryn Elli, Dafen, was found guilty at Llanelli Magistrates Court.

He was fined &#xA3;250 and ordered to pay costs totalling &#xA3;382.

Trading standards officers from Carmarthenshire County Council brought the prosecution after a complaint by a customer who bought yoghurts two days after the sell-by date on the packaging.

Investigations revealed that Choudry had inadequate systems in place to prevent such an offence happening.

After Choudry failed to appear in court on more than one occasion he was convicted in his absence of selling food past its use-by date contrary to the Food Safety Act 1990.

Philip Davies, head of public protection, said yesterday, "We have a duty to protect the interests of Carmarthenshire shoppers and will not hesitate to act against any trader who displays a blatant disregard towards food safety."